By way of background, hunters often seek elevated perches, such as tree stands, to gain an improved vantage point over the surrounding landscape while hunting. Such elevated tree stands are often accessed by way of a ladder, or by manually scaling the side of the tree in what is referred to as a climbing tree stand. Regardless of the style of tree stand utilized, the stands are similar in that they provide an elevated platform from which the hunter can survey the surrounding landscape while hunting. Once elevated, however, the hunter as at risk of falling out of the stand and becoming injured.
As is known, most traditional tree stands are intended to support a single hunter. Accordingly, if a hunter were to fall out of a tree stand and become injured, it is possible that no one would be in the immediate vicinity to provide the required first aid. Such risk of injury is further compounded by the fact that most hunting occurs in remote locations, far from populated areas where one might successfully call for required assistance. Additionally, falling from a tree stand may result in accidentally discharging a firearm or dislodging a sharpened blade such as a hunting knife or arrow, thereby further increasing the risk of physical injury.
Further, many tree stands incorporate safety measures such as a seatbelt or a restraining line to limit the occurrence of such falls. However, these many of these safety measures are integrated into the tree stand, such that if the tree stand were to disengage from the tree and fall, the safety measure would not arrest the hunter's fall. In addition, some of these safety measures, namely seatbelts, can limit the hunter's mobility and thereby inhibit the hunter's effectiveness. Also, many of these safety measures are incompatible with the bulky clothing necessary for hunting in cold weather climates.
Alternatively, it can be appreciated that laborers, such as construction workers, are often required to work at elevated locations. Typically, these laborers climb or are otherwise lifted to an elevated location. For example, such laborers may be positioned on a girder or similar structural element while working at a job site such as a skyscraper or other large building. These laborers are understandably at an increased risk of injury from falling, and therefore, typically employ some sort of safety measures such as a harness for preventing their fall. However, heretofore known safety measure suffer from a number of known disadvantages. For example, known harnesses tend to be relatively bulky and impede the wearer's movement. Thus, such harnesses render the laborers work more difficult and cumbersome. As a result, some laborers forego wearing the harnesses altogether, which understandably serves to increase the risk of injury thereto.
Moreover, in circumstances wherein an individual becomes incapacitated, removing the individual from a hazardous environment may be quite difficult. By way of example, firemen and persons are often engaged in rescue and clean-up operations at hazardous locales. If the individual becomes injured or is overcome by fumes or the like, the individual is dependent on others to effectuate a rescue. In order to rescue the incapacitated person, a third party will often grab the clothing of the incapacitated individual and drag the individual to safety. If the incapacitated individual is significantly larger than the rescuer, it may be difficult for the rescuer to carry or drag the incapacitated individual to safety. In addition, it is often times too difficult to grasp clothing of the incapacitated individual to drag such person to safety. Further, since clothing, such as a fireman's coat, is not secured to the incapacitated individual, it may be possible to inadvertently remove the coat from the incapacitated individual during the dragging of such person to safety. As a result, the fireman's coat must be repositioned on the incapacitated individual to prevent further injury to the incapacitated individual due to potential burning debris on the floor surface through which the incapacitated individual is dragged. This, in turn, increases the time required to remove the incapacitated individual from the hazardous environment.
Therefore, it is a primary object and feature of the present invention to provide a harness which may securely tether an individual to an anchor while the individual is in an elevated position.
It is a further object and feature of the present invention to provide a harness including a lower body harness adapted to enable the secure dragging or other such moving of the wearer from one location to another.
In accordance with the present invention, a harness device for a wearer is provided. The device includes a strap having first and second opposite ends. The strap defines first and second arm loop portions positionable about corresponding shoulders of the wearer. The first and second arm loop portions are movable between a first open configuration allowing a corresponding shoulder to be positioned therein and a second secured configuration for capturing the corresponding shoulder positioned therein. The strap also defines first and second leg loop portions positionable about the wearers legs and similarly movable between a first open configuration allowing a corresponding leg to be positioned therein and a second secured configuration for capturing the leg to be positioned therein. The leg loop portions may be adjusted via an adjustment mechanism to selectively tighten or loosen the leg loop portions about the wearer's legs.
A point is defined by the first and second ends of the strap. The point is connectable to an anchor. A belt is operatively connected to the strap and is positionable about a waist of the wearer. The belt includes first and second ends.
The strap includes a cross strap portion interconnecting the first and second arm loop portions and a connection structure connects the first and second ends of the strap to form the point. A fastening mechanism is operatively connected to the first and second ends of the belt. The fastening mechanism is moveable between an open configuration wherein the first and second ends of the belt are disconnected and a second closed position wherein the first and second ends of the belt are interconnected.
In accordance with a still further aspect of the present invention, a method is provided of tethering an individual to an elevated anchor. The method includes the step of placing a harness on an individual. The harness includes a strap having a first end and a second end. A belt is affixed around a waist of the individual. The belt is operatively connected to the strap. The first and second ends of the strap are interconnected to the elevated anchor.
The step of placing the harness on the individual includes the additional steps of forming first and second arm loops from the strap and positioning the first and second arm loops over corresponding shoulders of the individual and forming first and second leg loops from the strap and positioning the first and second leg loops over the wearer's legs.
If the individual is displaced from an elevated location, the first and second arm loops are constricted around the shoulders and the first and second leg loops are constricted around the legs of the individual so as to prevent the falling of the individual from the elevated location. The method may also include the additional step of incorporating the harness into a coat prior to the step of placing the harness on an individual.